#fran's restaurant

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Fran's restaurant Downtown Toronto

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Hamburger, fries, milkshake

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Why I Love Toronto Reason #142

Pantages Martini Bar and Lounge.

This story starts like most stories about bars, restaurants and lounges. I was drunk and I needed to pee. It’s the reality of things, I’m not going to sugar coat how I found reason #142. Anyways it was a night out with the crew and we decided to have breakfast/ midnight snack at Fran’s – no not the reason #7 location, but the one on Shuter location. Anyways so I needed to pee really badly and I asked Ariel where I could go to the bathroom and she said “There isn’t one here you have to next door, just go through those doors.” So I slid out of the booth and ran to the bathroom. I found the door and I pushed it only to enter what my drunk self assumed to be an alternate universe. I was no longer in a diner like atmosphere I was in a very professional looking area and my outfit, which was either very prep or Gino (I do not recall anything really prior to the bathroom visit) did not fit the attire of the crowd that was there.

So upon my return I asked Ariel what that place was and she said it was the Lounge attached to the Pantages Hotel. Now after a few more Fran visits with Ariel and other crew members, she decided she wanted to have her birthday there. So I got dressed in my Blue Blazer and my checkered golf pants and we went for a sophisticated night of drinking (no stumbling drunk next door).

It is a beautiful lounge with a double sided fireplace, metallic branches and a private library which has a large couch as well as bar chairs and table closer to the window, which looks right out at Victoria Street.  The lighting is very dark, with some hints of blue and green which creates a very sex and seductive mood. They have live jazz on Friday and Saturday nights as well as some 0ery unique drinks. Now before I go any further I must say I visited here during my beer hating days, hence the following drinks. Anyways I had a few Martini`s and the one`s that stood out in my mind were the Chocolate Martini, Crispy Crunch Martini, Banana Cream Pie Martini, Hemingway Daquri and From Russia With Love.  Now Ariel, Jess and I sat near the window and we watched people arriving at the hotel, and people getting ready to hit up Toronto`s nightlife. Even sitting at the bar is an experience, but the best part by far is the library. The library is such a popular location and it is recommended you book that room ahead of time.

So this is an amazing, beautiful bar for those of you who want a calm chilled out night and the library room is amazing. This is the place to sit down with some friends, listen to some jazz and drink the night away.

That Is Why I Love Toronto.

http://www.torontolife.com/guide/bars-and-clubs/bars/pantages-martini-bar-lounge/

http://www.pantageshotel.com/Photo-Gallery

http://www.dine.to/pantages

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Why I Love Toronto Reason #7

Fran's Restaurant 

Updated: May 8, 2015

It`s May 8th! That means one of our favourite 24-hour eats is turning 75! Now mind you the original location at Yonge & St. Clair is no longer around, but there are still three all year locations you can visit at Yonge & College (24 Hours), Victoria & Shuter (24 Hours) as well as  Yonge & Front. Fran`s also has a location at the CNE, where I had the amazing Thanksgiving Waffle, every August.   

Today Fran`s is offering 1940`s pricing on some of their items for their 75th! Their Yonge & Front location will offer the original menu which includes  a .25 cent Banquet Burger, .20 cent Tall Stack o`Pancakes as well as .15 cent for a slice of Apple Pie. 

Happy Birthday Fran`s Restaurant and make sure to check out the original post below! 

Original Post 

I woke up in the middle of the night and started craving some bacon and eggs, but since it was the middle of the night and I was pretty cold I wasn't in the mood for getting up and going downstairs to make myself food. Then I said to myself ``I wish Alyse and I could go to the Wendy's next to my house.`Then I realized that wouldn't suffice for they don't serve eggs and bacon. I then remembered that very very cold New Years Eve in 2009 when Ariel, Alyse, Eugenie and I made our way to Fran's at 4am as well as the time that Ariel, Jess and I went there for Nuit Blanche and after a night of drinking at the Pantages Hotel. 

Fran's first started in 1940 at Yonge & St. Clair and only had 10 seats! The owners wanted to serve unique high quality food for 24 hours a day to people of all walks of life. It was started by Francis (Fran) Deck, a Buffalo native who`s brother had a chain called Deco Refreshments, which had 50+ locations in Buffalo. It was here where he test-piloted Fran`s. Him and his wife came up to Toronto and opened the establishment we know and love today. 

In 1997 the famous College & Yonge location opened west of Maple Leaf Gardens, which at the time was still the home of the Toronto Maple Leafs and therefore became popular with the hockey crowd of Toronto. 

However, the Fran's I frequently attend is on Victoria and Shuter connected to the Pantage's Hotel bar in which the two establishments share a bathroom. I love how when you need to pee you leave the diner feel of Fran's and go through this upscale bar where a pianist plays live music and people wear suits and while laughing in a rich person way.

A really interesting thing about Fran`s on College & Yonge is that it was considered a haunt for Glenn Gould! According to the CBC

"Sometime between two and three every morning Gould would go to Fran's, a 24-hour diner a block away from his Toronto apartment, sit in the same booth and order the same meal of scrambled eggs."

No matter if your completely drunk, trying to escape the wrath of Father Winter or just really hungry at 4am, there are two 24 hour locations which will take you in and serve you a wide array of options. 

That Is Why I Love Toronto 

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